THE STUDIO

Ligia Unanue Design Studio is a design laboratory for children’s clothing ranging in size from 6 months to 16 years. The studio’s own collection, PROTOTIPOS CON MAGIA (Prototypes with Magic), specializes in clothing for infants from 6 to 24 months.

Ligia Unanue is principal designer and technical director. Her associates sew sample garments and translate prototype designs into computerized manufacturing instructions.

DESIGNER BIO

Ligia Unanue, youngest daughter of a self-taught designer and expert seamstress, was born in Puerto Octay, in the south of Chile.

In 1973, she began studying industrial design at the Universidad de Chile in Valparaiso and also took drawing and painting classes at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Viña del Mar.

Her professional work in fashion began two years later when she and her sister, jacquelineunanue.com( visual artist and designer), opened a business called Taller Unanue. They designed and produced women’s clothing that was hand-embroidered with motifs inspired by pre-Columbian art.

In 1981, Ligia moved to Spain to study fashion design and pattern-making at the Escuela Feli in Barcelona. She also enrolled in the Escola de Diseny Textil de Ramon Folch.

In 1983, Ligia began working as a freelance designer for several Spanish clothing manufacturers, among them Mayoral, Tricton, Tutti Frutti, Ellery (Next Generation), Markibaby, Diacar and Prenatal. She has maintained a close professional relationship with each of them.
Through her collaboration with labels such as La Squadra, Castañer, Pulligan (Pierre Cardin), she developed expertise with tricot, a warp-knit fabric. With Spaghetti and Parafine, she learned about fashion markets, particularly chain stores.

Since 2002, when she established her own studio/laboratory in Barcelona, she has been a contributor to many different European labels, such as:

MARCAS MODA INFANTIL
- BOBOLI START TEXTIL
- TUC TUC
- AKR KIDS
- P’TITES CANAILLES
- PREMAMAN
- CAREL
- ROOM SEVEN
- BB International
- CHUPA CHUPS
- JEAN BOURGET (Groupe Zannier)
- BYANTINE
- BASIC FACTORY
- BCN Kids
- WARNER BROS
- TALAMAN
- CLARIN

MARCAS DE MUJER
- PULLIGAN (Pierre Cardin) for women
- FRIDAY'S PROJECT
- CRISTIAN LAY

During this period, she started developing a new way of delivering textile design based on prototypes

In 2007, together with Drapets (designers of stamped decoration), Ligia exhibited PROTOTIPOS CON MAGIA in Paris at the world’s leading textile trade fair, INDIGO (PREMIERE VISION).

OUR PHILOSOPHY

What best defines Ligia is her sense of fashion as an everyday phenomenon, meaning she is especially sensitive to the real-life needs of the children she dresses. But then there’s the magical part, the visual and tactile surprises that make her designs unique.
On the practical side, Unanue creates collections that are easily manufactured, while still requiring the highest standards in pattern–making, sizing, fabric quality, decoration and color fidelity.

OUR GUARANTEE OF QUALITY

With a track record of more than 25 years of professional experience in the European fashion market, Ligia Unanue Design Studio can guarantee the most complete service possible, also one that is flexibly adapted to the needs of each individual client.
The studio is totally up-to-date. “We do careful studies of the market,” Unanue says, “which keep us abreast of whatever challenges the fashion industry is facing, and we develop solutions for whatever needs arise.”
The studio is also invested in a problem-free manufacturing process. “After our designs are purchased,” says Unanue, “we continue to work closely with our clients’ art directors and design teams.” Given the strategic location of Barcelona, Unanue is able to visit clients on short notice, no matter where their businesses are located.